Pierre Gasly backs Red Bull to be competitive with upgrades in Spain

Red Bull Racing's Pierre Gasly thinks his team will be more competitive from the Spanish Grand Prix next week onwards, as the Frenchman thinks the Bulls' first big update will competitive compared to front runners Ferrari and Mercedes.

It's not been smooth sailing for the 23-year-old since making the promotion from Toro Rosso to Red Bull. He finished outside of the points in Australia, and hasn't finished higher up than sixth since, although he did get the bonus point for the fastest lap in China. 

Spain, the fifth race of the season, is known to be where all teams introduce their first big updates. Teams that are suddenly more (or less) competitive in Spain typically continue in that form for the rest of the season. A big weekend for Red Bull, who can't lose sight already of Ferrari and Mercedes.

“Barcelona is kind of a cool race because you’re back in Europe and it marks the start of the middle part of the season,” Gasly was quoted by The Checkered Flag.

“It’s also a track where I’ve driven most of my laps, because going back to my junior career, we always tested there, so it’s a track everyone knows well.

“It’s a really exciting time as Spain is where you have upgrades coming and that’s really when you see the step everybody is making. I think the team has always been competitive there so I’m excited to see the performance we can achieve.”

The race in Barcelona also marks the first European race of the season, and with the city being relatively close to the border with France, Gasly can expect to be cheered on by a lot of his fellow countrymen in the crowd.

“You usually find the fans are pretty passionate in Spain so I expect a lot of people and it’s a race with a massive crowd.

“For sure you have more French people there as it’s close to France so there’s a bit more support and seeing the flags in the grand stands is a nice feeling that gives you an even bigger boost.”